Bryan Taylor receives endorsements from veteran GOP district attorneys
Former State Senator Bryan Taylor (R) announced on Tuesday endorsements from three Republican prosecutors. David Barber and Brandon Falls, both former DAs for Jefferson County, as well as Randall Houston, former DA for Autauga, Elmore, and Chilton Counties, have endorsed Taylor’s campaign for Chief Justice. “I’ve known him for over a decade, and I can say without a doubt that there is no better Republican candidate for Chief Justice than Bryan Taylor,” said Barber. Barber served more than 23 years as Jefferson County’s District Attorney. “Bryan Taylor is a former prosecutor, a conservative stalwart, and a principled believer in the rule of law,” Barber added. “I’m proud to support Bryan Taylor for Chief Justice because I’m witness to his tireless work ethic, his conservative philosophy, and his devotion to upholding the law and the Constitution as written.” Brandon Falls succeeded Barber as Jefferson County DA in 2008 and served over eight years in that role. “Bryan Taylor is fearless, and that’s the kind of Chief Justice we need right now,” Falls said. “I support Bryan because Alabama deserves a Chief Justice who understands the job and the needs of prosecutors, who has been in the trenches, and who has a record of holding criminals accountable under the law.” Randall Houston served 32 years as the DA for the 19th Judicial Circuit, which covers Autauga, Elmore, and Chilton Counties. Taylor represented Houston’s community when Taylor served in the Alabama State Senate from 2010 to 2014. “I know Bryan Taylor is a stalwart supporter of law enforcement and an unrelenting advocate for crime victims,” Houston said. “Whenever we came to him with a need—for more resources or for strengthening the law—district attorneys could always count on Bryan Taylor to get it right,” Houston added. “He has a profound respect for the Separation of Powers and will faithfully apply the law as written and not legislate from the bench.” Houston recalled that as a state senator, after a series of three tragic deaths caused by drunk boaters on Alabama lakes, Taylor strengthened the law, allowing DAs to seek the same felony penalties for homicides caused by drunk boating that apply to vehicular DUI homicides. He said Taylor also advanced legislation increasing compensation for victims of violent crime. As Governor Kay Ivey’s chief legal advisor from 2017 to 2019, Taylor spearheaded the governor’s investigation and overhaul of the state’s Pardons and Paroles Board after Jimmy O’Neal Spencer committed a triple homicide in Guntersville while on parole under the Board’s supervision. Taylor is an Iraq War veteran and former military prosecutor. As a state senator, he spearheaded passage of the state’s first Uniform Code of Military Justice. Taylor also introduced legislation to crack down on the state’s illegal casinos after casino owners were federally prosecuted for bribery. That made him a lot of enemies in Montgomery. Illegal gambling bosses continue to operate at least 30 illegal gambling operations in open defiance of the Alabama Constitution and state law by making large campaign contributions to politicians from both political parties, including judges, sheriffs, and legislators. Taylor also played a major role in writing and enacting sweeping reforms to strengthen the state’s ethics laws, including a bill to make it a crime for public officials to accept lavish gifts, meals, or junkets from lobbyists. There is an ongoing effort underway to weaken those 2010 ethics laws. Taylor is a founding member of the law firm of Bachus Brom & Taylor, with a concentration in appellate and constitutional law, election law, business law, and civil litigation. Taylor lives in Shelby County with his three children, where they attend Double Oak Community Church. Current Chief Justice Tom Parker (R) is prevented from running for another term because of Alabama’s archaic age limits on judges. Associate Justice Sara Stewart (R) has also qualified to run for Chief Justice. Greg Griffin has qualified to run as a Democrat for Chief Justice. The major party primaries are on March 5. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
AG Steve Marshall applauds bill that corrects fatal flaw in parole statute
On Thursday, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed legislation to prevent criminals facing serious pending charges from getting out on parole. House Bill 131 (HB131) was sponsored by State Representative Wes Kitchens (R-Guntersville) and carried in the Senate by State Sen. Sam Givhan (R-Huntsville). Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall applauded the signing of HB131 to correct a fatal flaw in Alabama’s parole system. HB131 was proposed after the infamous Jimmy O’Neal Spencer case exposed a statutory loophole that allowed a prisoner with pending charges to still be considered for parole before those charges were properly resolved. “Throughout the session, this legislature has prioritized the correction of deficiencies within our criminal justice system,” said Attorney General Marshall. “HB131 closes an important loophole to ensure that no offender be released on parole while new charges are pending. This is a public safety issue, but it also spares crime victims of having to show up and relive their experiences at parole hearings that are unnecessary.” In August 2022, Jimmy O’Neal Spencer – who was serving two life sentences and was awaiting trial on three capital-murder charges – was given a parole hearing. The parole board at the time denied Spencer’s parole, but Marshall said that this peculiar loophole in our parole system needed to be closed. According to the synopsis, “Under existing law, prisoners in the custody of the Department of Corrections are eligible for parole in certain circumstances. This bill would provide that a prisoner is not eligible for parole if he or she has been duly charged with a new offense that has not been disposed.” “If you are a prisoner facing serious charges that carry penalties by more than six months, you can’t be up for parole,” Kitchens said. Spencer, a lifetime career criminal, came up for parole even though he was then facing three charges of capital murder for the slayings of Colton Lee, Martha Reliford, and Marie Martin. Crimes he committed after the previous Parole Board granted him parole even though he was serving two life sentences. An angry Gov. Ivey replaced the Board members in the wake of this and other debacles for their leniency that was widely condemned as far too reckless. The new Parole Board denied Spencer’s parole application, but that could have ended differently with much more lenient parole commissioners. The signing of this legislation has closed that loophole in existing statute. 2023 has been a good legislative session for Marshall. He said that as the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of Alabama, he has led on three public safety initiatives this legislative session, including the Deputy Brad Johnson Act and SB143, creating sentencing enhancements for members of criminal enterprises, including gangs. Each bill has been met with overwhelming bipartisan support. The legislature has also imposed stiffer penalties on exhibition driving, organized retail theft, and deadly fentanyl traffickers. The state is in the process of building two new mega prisons in Elmore and Escambia Counties. Marshall is serving his second elected term as attorney general following his landslide re-election last year. Tuesday is the final day of the 2023 Alabama Regular Legislative Session. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Parole denied for 90% of Alabama inmates, a new low
Seventy-one-year-old Leola Harris is confined to a wheelchair, must undergo dialysis three times a week, and is in end-stage renal failure, her attorney said. After serving 19 years of a 35-year murder sentence, the frail woman is not a threat to anyone and should be released to a nursing home to live out her final days, he argued. The Alabama Parole Board disagreed and last week denied her parole after a brief hearing. She won’t be eligible again until 2028. The rate of state inmates being granted parole in Alabama has plummeted to a new low, with 90% of eligible inmates being rejected last fiscal year, according to agency reports. Critics of the decline say the board is not following its guidelines, and denial has become the default decision. “This denial is an injustice and a waste of tax dollars,” said former Alabama Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb, who now heads Redemption Earned, which represented Harris. The group is a nonprofit law firm that represents aged and ill inmates whom the organization determines are worthy of release. “They are supposed to ask if someone has been adequately punished. She’s 71 and has served 19 years, without violations in 12 years,” Cobb said. “Then the next question is: Do they pose a risk to public safety? The woman is in a wheelchair and cannot even go to the bathroom by herself. She’s dying, and they just denied her parole. It is an injustice. It is shameful.” Harris’ parole was opposed by Victims of Crime and Leniency, an advocacy group for victims and their families, and the state attorney general’s office. They argued against Harris’ release because she was convicted of murder. Harris was convicted of murder for the 2001 killing of Lennell Norris, who was found dead at her kitchen table. Harris testified at her trial that Norris was a friend who would often come by her house at night but maintained she did not shoot him and that someone else was in the house that night. The three-member board granted parole to 409 inmates and turned down 3,593 others in the fiscal year that ended September 30, according to records from the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles. The grant rate of 10% is a fraction of what it had been in previous years and comes after four straight years of decline. The rate was 31% in fiscal year 2019 before falling to 20% in 2020 and then 15% in 2021. Parole board Chairwoman Leigh Gwathney declined to comment to questions submitted through an agency spokesperson. State Rep. Chris England, who has called for changes on the board, argued political concerns are driving the limited releases. “Folks that are pushing this process where we don’t release anyone are more concerned with headlines than they are with public safety,” England, D-Tuscaloosa, said. Leah Nelson, research director at the legal nonprofit Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, said the state is creating “conditions for combustion” within prisons that the U.S. Department of Justice has said are already among the most violent in the country. “We have a parole board that evidently is finding that no one meets whatever standard it has in mind. No one has any hope. We have a despair machine,” Nelson said. In 2020, guidelines were put in place, including a scoring system, to determine if release is recommended. The board conformed to the guidelines about 30% of the time, according to state records. Cam Ward, executive director of the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles, said the guidelines are just that. “The law says it’s up to the board. They have total discretion,” Ward said. He cautioned about comparing parole rates to the years before 2019, because of sentencing changes. A horrific crime in north Alabama led to changes at Alabama’s parole board. In 2018, eight months after Jimmy O’Neal Spencer was released on parole, he was charged with killing three people, including a 7-year-old and his grandmother. In 2019, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed legislation overhauling the board appointment process. “If these folks are upset about the number of inmates paroled, they should come every day and listen to the horrible crimes they committed. They would understand why these violent offenders should serve their sentence,” Janette Grantham, executive director of Victims of Crime and Leniency, wrote in an email. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall defended the low parole rate. “By law, the paramount duty of the board is to ensure public safety—not to appease the anti-incarceration community,” his office said in a statement released through a spokesman. Stacy George, a former corrections officer who has been outspoken about prison conditions, said he believes the board should hear from inmates directly, at least remotely via computer, and find out more about their circumstances. People eligible for parole in Alabama currently do not appear before the board. “There are people that never need to actually get out of prison, but there are people that do need to get out and get a second chance,” George said. Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
Jimmy O’Neal Spencer sentenced to death for 2018 triple homicide
A man convicted of killing three people, including a 7-year-old boy, in robberies that netted $600 was sentenced to death on Monday by a judge who called him “a reason for the death penalty to exist.” A judge handed down the death sentence to Jimmy O’Neal Spencer in accordance with the jury’s decision last month, news outlets reported. Spencer, who had been on parole at the time of the killings, was found guilty of capital murder in the 2018 deaths of Martha Dell Reliford, 65; Marie Kitchens Martin, 74; and Martin’s great-grandson, Colton Ryan Lee, 7. The women were killed in separate robberies that netted about $600, prosecutors said, and the boy was killed because he was a witness. “It’s ordered and judged by this court that you be sentenced to death, and you deserve death. If there ever was a reason for the death penalty to exist in this state, you’re it,” Marshall County Circuit Judge Tim Riley told Spencer, according to WHNT. The judge was bound to the jury’s death sentence decision because lawmakers in 2017 ended the ability of a judge to override a jury’s sentence recommendation in capital murder cases. Spencer and the victims’ families spoke to the court before the death sentence was pronounced. “He belongs in hell,” Nellie Wray, Reliford’s sister, said, according to al.com. “He killed a baby and two innocent women.” Spencer had been paroled eight months before the slayings. He was released after serving 28 years of a life sentence for a variety of convictions, including burglary and assault. Evidence over four days of trial showed Spencer did well initially after being released from prison but returned to crime after losing a job. Politicians cited Spencer’s case in pushing to make the state’s parole process tougher, and the rate of paroles has dropped sharply since then. Spencer told the court he would go back and change what happened if he could. “I am sorry about what happened. There’s no way I can change it. If I could, I would.” During the trial, investigators played an audio recording of Spencer saying he went to the houses in July 2018 to steal money and committed the killings to avoid leaving witnesses. He first went to the home of Reliford, whom he had met through a relative, and hit her in the head with a hatchet, authorities said. Worried the woman wasn’t dead, Spencer cut her throat with a kitchen knife before fleeing with about $600. Days later, after the money ran out, he went to the home of Martin, Reliford’s neighbor, and strangled her with a dog leash before cutting her throat, authorities said. Spencer bashed the child’s head with a hammer to prevent the boy from identifying him and left with $13, authorities said. While the defense challenged Spencer’s mental competency, a judge ruled he was able to stand trial. Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
